Roberta Teale Swartz Chalmers (9 June 1903 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

– 13 May 1993 in

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

) was an American academic, a poet, and co-founder of the

Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959 in litera ...

Early life and education

The daughter of William King Swartz and his wife Carrie Teale, Swartz attended

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

, where she took her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1925

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

.Mount Holyoke College,
Llamarada
' (1925 yearbook): 140. After obtaining her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree at

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1926, she went on to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where she obtained her

B.Litt. BLitt may refer to: * Bachelor of Letters Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second bachelor's degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. Thi ...

degree in 1929. On 3 September 1929, she married

Gordon Keith Chalmers Gordon Keith Chalmers (7 February 1904 in Waukesha, Wisconsin – 8 May 1956 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) was a scholar of seventeenth-century English thought and letters, president of Rockford College and Kenyon College, and a national leader i ...

, with whom she had three sons and a daughter.

Academic career

Roberta Teale's first appointment was as an English teacher at

Bancroft School Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, is an independent, co-educational, PreK–12, college-preparatory day school. Students typically live in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest Boston. The school campus measures . ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

in 1926-27. From there, she went on to become instructor in English at

, and was promoted to

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

in 1931. She left Mount Holyoke in 1934 on her husband's selection as president of

Rockford College Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a Unite ...

, where she served as

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

of English. On his selection as president of

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

in 1937, she eventually served as

there in 1942-45. In 1937,

awarded her a

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree. While at Kenyon, she became a major influence in the establishment of the

in 1939 and served as an advisor to its first editor

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

. After her husband's death in 1956, she was appointed visiting lecturer at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1956-57, and then she was appointed associate professor of English at Queens College, Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1959 to 1968.

Published works

* ''Lilliput'' New York : Harcourt, Brace, 1926. * ''Lord Juggler & other poems'' New York: Harper, 1932 * ''Mount Holyoke College hundred year poems'' 1937

Unpublished works

* ''Clarastella'' by Robert Heath (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1636-59), edited, introduction and notes by Roberta Teale Swartz. Mount Holyoke archives

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartz, Roberta Teale 1903 births Alumni of the University of Oxford Writers from Brooklyn American women poets Mount Holyoke College alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty Kenyon College faculty Radcliffe College alumni Rockford University faculty 1993 deaths Queens University of Charlotte faculty 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American women academics